The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in English language arts. The lowest is 10% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Tony Gonzalez El
Tony Gonzalez Elementary serves pre-K through fifth grade in Santa Maria, a very small, largely rural census-designated place in southwestern Cameron County, about a short distance southwest of Harlingen in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border. The community is overwhelmingly Hispanic and Latino, with most families owning their homes. A nearby colonia, an unincorporated low-income residential subdivision, is part of the area's fabric. Nearly all students at the school qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the low-income character of the area.
The school's state assessment results show uneven performance across grades and subjects. In reading, fifth-graders performed substantially better than third-graders, reaching proficiency at a meaningful rate, while third graders' proficiency was lower. Third-grade math proficiency was particularly low, though fifth graders showed improvement there as well. Science proficiency in fifth grade was very low, with only a small fraction of students meeting the standard; social studies proficiency was similarly weak. Data for fourth-grade assessments in math and reading were too sparse to report. Overall, across tested grades and subjects, the school's proficiency sits below the midpoint relative to other districts in Cameron County.
The school has small to moderate enrollment for its grade band, spread across all seven grades from pre-K through fifth. The majority of students tested are in grades three, five, and below, with smaller cohorts in grades four and five in some subjects. The school is a regular public elementary campus, not a charter. It sits as part of a school complex along Military Road that serves as a civic anchor for Santa Maria, with the elementary, middle, and high schools and the district office all located in close proximity.
At the district level, Santa Maria ISD recently received state funding to launch a registered-nursing career and technical education pathway in partnership with Texas Southmost College, a concrete college and career option for families looking ahead. The district's high school and this elementary school both earned a B accountability rating for 2024-25, while the district overall received a C. The high school's four-year graduation rate exceeded the statewide average.
For families considering this school, the picture is one of a small, close-knit, predominantly low-income community where elementary reading proficiency shows some strength in the upper grades but math and science need attention. A parent may want to look into further with the school how it is addressing the performance gaps in math for younger grades and science across the board, and what supports exist for English learners, since the school serves a highly Hispanic population in a region where bilingual or Spanish-language education is common but enrollment counts for English learners were not available in the data.
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